CVE-2018-9139 in Mobile Device
Summary
by MITRE
On Samsung mobile devices with N(7.x) software, a buffer overflow in the vision service allows code execution in a privileged process via a large frame size, aka SVE-2017-11165.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/18/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-9139 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within Samsung's vision service component affecting devices running Android Nougat version 7.x software. This issue resides in the privileged system process that handles vision-related functionalities, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation when processing frame data, specifically when handling large frame sizes that exceed allocated buffer boundaries. The vision service operates in a highly privileged context, making this flaw particularly dangerous as it could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources and potentially compromise the entire device.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow occurs within the vision service daemon which processes multimedia frame data for vision-based applications. When an attacker crafts a malicious frame with an oversized payload, the service fails to properly validate the frame dimensions before copying data into fixed-size buffers. This classic buffer overflow condition allows for memory corruption that can be exploited to overwrite critical memory locations including return addresses and function pointers. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the service receives frame data that exceeds the expected buffer capacity, leading to memory overwrite conditions that can be leveraged for code execution. This flaw aligns with CWE-121, which categorizes buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to write beyond allocated memory regions.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-9139 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with access to the privileged vision service process that typically handles sensitive multimedia processing tasks. This access could enable adversaries to manipulate device vision capabilities, potentially intercepting or modifying visual data streams, accessing camera feeds, or compromising other vision-based security features. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges since the vision service already operates with elevated permissions, making the attack surface particularly concerning for mobile device security. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent backdoors, extract sensitive information, or deploy additional malicious payloads that persist across device reboots, as the exploited service typically runs continuously in the background.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-9139 should prioritize immediate software updates from Samsung, as the company released patches specifically addressing this vulnerability in subsequent security updates. Organizations should implement comprehensive device management policies that enforce timely security patch deployment across all affected Samsung devices. Network-level monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous frame data patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on unusual multimedia data processing activities. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and script interpreter demonstrates the potential for attackers to leverage this privilege escalation to execute malicious commands through the vision service process. Device security should include regular security assessments of system services and implementation of memory protection mechanisms such as stack canaries and address space layout randomization to make exploitation more difficult. Additionally, application developers should ensure proper input validation in their multimedia processing components and consider implementing defensive programming practices to prevent similar buffer overflow conditions in their code.